BlackRock faces fine over Telecom Italia stake

Italian watchdog Consob may fine the world’s biggest money manager, BlackRock, for not informing the regulator soon enough that it had increased its stake in Italy’s Telecom Italia, Consob’s chairman told an Italian newspaper.

At the end of November, BlackRock lifted its holding to 10.1% from the 5.1% it held in October, giving it a potentially pivotal role in a Dec 20 shareholder vote on whether to oust the board of the telecoms firm.

BlackRock informed the US Securities and Exchange Commission about its investment at the beginning of December but it did not tell Consob within a five-day deadline.